Danez Smith facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Danez Smith
Smith at the 2025 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
Born	St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin-Madison (B.A.) University of Michigan
Genre	Poetry
Literary movement	Dark Noise Collective
Notable works	... Boy Don't Call Us Dead: Poems Homie
Notable awards	Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry Kate Tufts Discovery Award Forward Prize

Danez Smith is an American poet, writer, and performer. They are from St. Paul, Minnesota. Smith is known for their award-winning poetry collections. These include ... Boy, Don't Call Us Dead: Poems, and Homie. Their newest book, Bluff, was released in 2024 by Graywolf Press.

Early Life and Education

Danez Smith was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. They went to Saint Paul Central High School. Smith grew up in the Selby Neighborhood with their mother and grandparents. Their family originally came from Mississippi and Georgia.

Smith has shared that reading was a challenge for them until third grade. A teacher helped them by saying that reading would let them enjoy video-game magazines. This idea really motivated Smith to learn.

Smith later became a First Wave Urban Arts Scholar. They attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2012.

Career as a Poet

Smith is a founding member of the Dark Noise Collective. This group includes other poets like Fatimah Asghar and Jamila Woods.

In February 2016, Smith performed with Jamila Woods and Macklemore. This performance was on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Smith's writing has also appeared in well-known magazines. These include Poetry and Ploughshares.

Published Books and Chapbooks

Smith has written several books of poetry. Their first book, ... Boy, won the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. A judge described the poems as "remarkable" and "morally urgent." ... Boy was also named a Best Poetry Book by the Boston Globe in 2014.

Their second book, Don't Call Us Dead: Poems, was a finalist for the 2017 National Book Award for poetry. Smith's third book, Homie, was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. It also received a nomination for the 2021 NAACP Image Award for Poetry.

Smith has also published two smaller poetry collections called chapbooks. These are hands on ya knees (2013) and black movie (2015). black movie won the Button Poetry Prize.

Poetry Slams and Podcasts

Smith has been a finalist twice in the Individual World Poetry Slam. They were a finalist in 2011 and placed second in 2014.

Smith co-hosts a poetry podcast called VS with Franny Choi. This podcast is from the Poetry Foundation.

Personal Life

Danez Smith uses they/them pronouns.

Works

Poems

• "poem where I be & you just might" (Poetry Society of America)
• "Dinosaurs in the Hood" (Poetry, December 2014)
• "the bullet was a girl" (Poem-a-Day by the Academy of American Poets, September 3, 2015)
• "Principles" (video from Brave New Voices Festival, July 2016)
• "You're Dead, America" (BuzzFeed, November 9, 2016)
• "C.R.E.A.M." (Poem-a-Day by the Academy of American Poets, February 1, 2017)
• "Don't Try Us" (Fader, May 1, 2017)
• Selection from "summer, somewhere" (The New York Times, June 9, 2017)

Chapbooks

• hands on ya knees (2013, Penmanship Books)
• black movie (2015, Button Poetry), ISBN 978-1-943735-00-6

Books

• ... boy, YesYes Books (2014), ISBN: 978-1936919284
• Don't Call Us Dead, Graywolf Press (2017), ISBN: 978-1555977856
• Homie, Graywolf Press (2020), ISBN: 978-1644450109
• Bluff, Graywolf Press (2024), ISBN 978-1-64445-298-1

In Anthology

• Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology (University of Georgia Press, 2018) ISBN: 978-0820353159

Awards and Recognition

Danez Smith has received many awards for their poetry.

• 2014 – Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship
• 2015 – Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry
• 2016 – Kate Tufts Discovery Award
• 2017 – NEA fellowship for creative writing
• 2017 – National Book Award for Poetry, Finalist
• 2018 – Forward Prize for Best Poetry Collection
• 2018 – Four Quartets Prize
• 2021 – Minnesota Book Award for Poetry